Northeast Missouri isn't hitting economic development and entrepreneurship as hard as it could be, an entrepreneurship adviser told development directors and leaders from across the region during their annual seminar focused on creating jobs and increasing prosperity.

In fact, it's hitting below its weight class, Dane Stangler, director of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation, told about 60 economic development leaders and directors from the Northeast Missouri Development Partnership Friday at its annual conference at A.T. Still University in Kirksville.

A Truman State graduate and keynote speaker for the day-long conference, Stangler shared his experiences fostering business development with the Kauffman Foundation and while furthering its goal of more businesses, more growth and more jobs.

"But it's not just about starting a business," he said of the steps to success. "It's about finding a problem and solving it. That's what entrepreneurs do."

The problem, as he sees it, in northeast Missouri has to do with limited resources, both financial and educational, in addition to just the challenge of running a successful business.

The NMDP is a collaboration of economic development groups, city, county and educational leaders from across 16 counties in northeast Missouri. The group comes together and focuses on the challenging goal of increasing business growth and creating more jobs across the region.

Stangler provided an overview of economic development stats, highlighting that while small businesses make up about 95 percent of all businesses in Missouri, their relatively small size means they only employ about half the state's workers.

But Stangler said a resurgent American factory movement isn't the answer, either, pointing to education for the middle class as key to fostering successful business growth.

"It doesn't start at the upper educational institutions," he said.

He spoke in favor of expanding education for K-12, focusing on technology while also addressing skills taught in vocational schools and community colleges and fostering curiosity that can lead to innovation.

"The end goal of any of this is prosperity," he said. "It's kind of a general-sounding term everyone can define differently. I think we want all of our kids to be well-prepared to participate in any kind of economy but especially this fast-changing economy we have now."

He advocated for a focus on recombination of skills to allow both youth and adults to be prepared for tomorrow's economy and jobs.

"It's about taking limited resources and putting them together to create value," he said.

Participants also took part in break-out sessions on entrepreneur development, business financing and trends in economic development.